This invention relates to techniques for providing an early warning of a potential failure on a programmable circuit, and more particularly, to techniques for monitoring the performance of a programmable circuit to detect a performance degradation and to provide an early warning of a potential failure.
Programmable integrated circuits comprise numerous programmable circuit elements that can be programmed to implement a variety of user circuit designs. Programmable integrated circuits typically contain logic elements that can be programmed to perform numerous logic functions. Programmable integrated circuits also include a programmable structure of interconnect conductors that can route signals between the programmable circuit elements.
Programmable integrated circuits sometimes fail to operate properly as a result of degradation in the performance of particular circuit elements. For example, particular circuit elements may operate at a lower speed, at a higher power, or at a reduced signal-to-noise ratio. As a result of the degradation in performance, the integrated circuit may not operate according to user defined specifications.
The performance of particular circuit elements can degrade over time. Eventually, performance degrades to the point that the programmable integrated circuit does not operate according to the user defined specifications. When the integrated circuit fails to operate properly according to the user defined specifications, it may be difficult to locate and isolate particular circuit elements causing the problem.
It would therefore be desirable to provide techniques for monitoring the performance of a programmable circuit to identify potential failures. It would also be desirable to provide an early warning of a potential failure on a programmable circuit.